Rob Wilder & José Win RAMMYs 2015 Restaurateur of the Year Award

June 2015

The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington held its annual 33rd RAMMY Awards in downtown Washington, D.C. on June 7, the one night of the year when the city’s finest restaurants, restaurant groups, and individuals can hang up their aprons to enjoy the evening. The RAMMYs recognize top talent throughout the industry, and ThinkFoodGroup is proud to announce that Chef José Andrés and Rob Wilder were named the 2015 Restaurateurs of the year. ThinkFoodGroup enjoyed cocktails from barmini while dancing the night away. We are proud of all our accomplishments and can’t wait for next year’s RAMMY awards. For more information about the RAMMY awards, click here.

“I am so honored to be a part of this talented group of entrepreneurs,” José told the crowd at the EY Awards Gala this past June as he accepted the EY Master Entrepreneur of the Year award for the Greater Washington area.

This past month, José welcomed slaughtering and butchering extraordinaire Adam Danforth to his home for a very special event courtesy of Chapel Hill Farms from the Shenandoah Valley: a tasting of a six year-old Randall Lineback cow and a three month-old Randall Lineback calf.

The 2015 Milan Universal Exposition kicked off May 1st 2015, and José recently visited to speak on his role as the Culinary Ambassador for the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves in order to educate a broad international audience on the benefits of clean cookstoves and fuels.

José recently engaged in a panel discussion at the private residence of Italian Ambassador Claudio Bisogniero to highlight the challenges of feeding a growing population in a safe and sustainable way by preserving cultures and traditions.

For his second post on National Geographic’s food blog, The Plate, José discusses the farmers’ market movement in America and why connecting with our world’s small farmers is important both here and abroad.

The first time I saw America was from my perch on the mast of a Spanish naval ship, where I could spot the Statue of Liberty reaching proudly into the open, endless American sky. At night, I would often wonder whether that sky was the explanation for the stars on the American flag — put there so the world would know that this is a place of limitless possibility, where anyone from anywhere can strive for a better life.

José Andrés, chef, entrepreneur, husband, and father is also now an American Citizen! He shares his story of his 23 year journey to becoming an American and his thoughts on the current debate on immigration reform in America in a special segment in the Today Show!

As part of the US State Department's Diplomatic Culinary Partnership, chefs from across the country serve as resources for the State Department by preparing meals for foreign leaders and participating in public diplomacy programs.

The whirling dervish of a chef is an entrepreneur (13 restaurants), teacher (Harvard), TV star (in three countries) and activist (a volunteer and head of his own nonprofit) who hopes to solve the problems of hunger with good food.

Chef Jose Andres joins the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves as “Culinary Ambassador,” helping to raise awareness of an issue that causes nearly two million deaths each year: toxic smoke from traditional cooking stoves.

"It happens rarely that a city of any size is so fully identified with one chef," says ubiquitous New York restaurateur Danny Meyer. "But you cannot think about Washington-slash-food without the next slash being José Andrés."

Just when you thought that José Andrés had won every culinary award out there – the James Beard Best Mid-Atlantic chef, Bon Appetit Chef of the Year, Food & Wine's 35 under 35 – here comes another one.